Just The Way They Are
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Axl and Cassidy's life together is marked by small, random moments. Axl/Cassidy


**Disclaimer****: **I don't own The Middle and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Axl and Cassidy lay out on the grass and just watched the clouds, one of their favorite things to do now that the weather was warmer. He rolled over to stare at her and grinned at his girlfriend. "What are you looking at me like that for, Axl?" Cassidy beamed right back, however.

"Because. I love you." He didn't say it very often, but he definitely meant it. He had never set out to fall in love with her, but he was happy he had.

She laughed and then leaned over to give him a kiss. "I love you, too." She had never expected to fall in love with Axl Heck, but she had and was excited to see what their future had in store for them. Cassidy hoped they lasted.

Mike and Frankie watched the two from inside the house. "Should I get out the hose again and spray them?"

Frankie swatted his arm. "Mike!"

"What? It looks like they're about to go at it right there in our yard."

She laughed. "Fine, go do it if you have to."

"I will." He made a beeline towards the hose and prepared to unleash his watery fury on Axl and Cassidy. Whatever the two were about to talk about next was interrupted when extremely cold water rained down on them. They shrieked and stood up.

Axl glared at his father. "Will you stop doing that? We were just talking!"

"I brought a change of clothes. Don't worry about it." Cassidy had actually been expecting this and that's why she had come prepared this time around. She liked her boyfriend's father despite the fact that he kept spraying them with the hose.

"Let's go change and then we'll go somewhere else where we won't be interrupted." Axl kissed his girlfriend and then they reluctantly pulled apart to change clothes.

It wasn't the first nor the last time Mike would use the hose method to interrupt them that summer. Axl and Cassidy had a lot of fun, though.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Hecks were having a barbecue to celebrate Axl's graduation from college, and Cassidy showed up an hour before everyone else to help out. "You know you don't have to do this, Cassidy." Frankie handed her a bowl of chips, however, and tried to find the tongs she had been searching for for days.

"I know, but I want to help out."

"So you excited about your new job?" Frankie was glad that her son's girlfriend had landed a job that she actually wanted. She was going to start in a few days.

Cassidy nodded. "I am really excited about this opportunity. I'm so lucky to even get this in the first place. And the money is actually pretty good, which surprised me. But I'm happy about this." At least she and Axl would have more money to pay their bills. They had moved in together two years earlier.

"I'm glad. So how's your mom doing? I haven't seen her in a while." Frankie liked Cassidy's mother, which was a good thing. If they didn't get along, the family gatherings would not go as well as they always did.

"She's great. We're actually planning a trip to Florida for the winter, just us girls. Do you want to go? She wanted me to ask."

Frankie stopped dead in her tracks. "Aw, that's so sweet. I'll have to think about it, see if we can afford a trip like that." She was flattered that they had even thought to ask and desperately wanted to go, but didn't know if she could.

"Well, just tell me once you know." Cassidy beamed when Axl walked into the door and she pulled him in for a hug and a kiss.

They ended up having a great time that night and snuggled up next to the fire. It was a good, fun day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cassidy admired her engagement ring again and then put her hand at her side. She still had a little trouble believing that she and Axl were getting married. They had been heading in this direction for the past six years, but Cassidy honestly hadn't expected a proposal until he got down on one knee on their anniversary. She smiled and thanked her fiancé when he showed up with a pretzel and handed it to her.

"You're welcome. So where is everybody?" Axl looked around the fairgrounds for his parents and siblings.

She shrugged. "I think Brick wanted to find somewhere private to read, Sue's with Darrin, and your parents went to get something to eat, but it's been a while since I saw them. You want to go find them?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I just wanted to make sure they were gone before I did this." Axl kissed her and the two made out on the bench for a few minutes. Unfortunately, they were interrupted when Mike and Frankie showed back up.

"That pretzel looks really good," Frankie observed.

"I'm not going back to get you want one." Mike didn't want to, but he most likely would if his wife kept bugging him about it.

Cassidy broke off a piece of hers and handed it to her future mother-in-law. "I'm not going to be able to eat the whole thing so we can share." She didn't mind sharing at all.

"Thank you. See, Mike, she shares. You should learn something from her."

It was just a normal day for the Heck family and Cassidy couldn't wait until she was officially part of the family.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I am not naming our son Colin." Axl flipped through the baby name book and then slammed it down on their end table in frustration.

"What's wrong with it?" Cassidy winced as the baby kicked her kidney and waited for her husband's response. She wanted something that they both liked and would fit the baby. This was harder than she'd thought it'd be, however.

"Colin Heck? I don't like the name at all, Cass." He also wanted to stray from the unusual names considering he was Axl, his brother was Brick, and his sister ended up as Sue Sue. He didn't want his child to go through the same things they had.

"Fine. But we'll come up with something eventually. Ooh, how about Caleb? It's always been one of my favorite names."

He laughed. "You can't get out of the "C" names, can you? Look in another part of the names books!" Axl leaned back and put his hand on her expanding stomach, feeling the baby kick.

"I'm just really tired." As if to prove her point, Cassidy yawned and then leaned back with him. They snuggled together on the couch for a few hours.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Come on, Kiddo, you're going to love first grade. School is exciting!" Cassidy rolled the stroller back and forth to rock the baby to sleep as she tried to comfort her six year old son.

"I don't want to go, Mommy! School sucks."

"Caleb Michael Heck, I have warned you before about saying that word. Please, baby. You're going to have a lot of fun today, I promise. Plus, Katie and Noah will be there. You want to see them, don't you?" Katie was Sue and Darrin's only child, born about six months before Caleb. The two cousins got along really well.

"Sorry." He hung his head and looked down at the ground.

"Hey, Cal. I didn't want to go to school either, but I did and I made a lot of friends, like Uncle Darrin. You'll like it." Axl understand his son's worries, but he wanted him to experience this. First grade was a big step.

"Okay, Daddy." Caleb grabbed his father's hand as the family of four made their way to the bus stop. Cassidy cried (she later claimed there was something in her eye) as she hugged the little boy goodbye. Axl hugged him and the two watched as the six year old boarded the bus.

"I can't believe we have a child old enough to start school." Cassidy unbuckled their three month old and took her out of the stroller before placing her in the baby swing. It always worked to lure Rose to sleep. She and Axl had figured that one out rather quickly.

"At least we still have this one at home and she won't be going to school for years," Axl pointed out. Rose was definitely going to help with Cassidy's separation anxiety when she wasn't working and had time to worry.

"That is true. You always know what to say to calm me down. And Cal will be fine. I just have to believe it." Cassidy grinned at her husband and then squeezed his hand for support. Axl squeezed hers back.

"You want to go watch TV for a little while? Or we could do something else, like shopping." He didn't want to go shopping, but he was willing to try anything to calm her down.

"This is why I love you. You can be really sweet sometimes."

"Only sometimes? I have to change that." Axl leered at her.

Cassidy rolled her eyes but laughed anyway. "Axl!" He always had the ability to make her laugh when she needed it.

Axl and Cassidy Heck were happy together. She was his first love and they couldn't imagine their lives without the other at this point. Axl was glad he needed a tutor his senior year of high school and Cassidy was happy she was his tutor. The day they met had changed their lives for the better. They fought like any other couple, of course, but the good days were par for the course in their life. Their jobs and their family only magnified their happiness.


End file.
